THE QUEST FOR PERFECTION

        One of humanity’s continual quests is to do better, perhaps even achieve perfection. Not everyone seeks this, of course, but most of us will try if we want to do something good. Whether it’s inventing a better tool, formulating a theory, composing music or writing a story, most of us want to get it as near as we’re able. The sinful human heart will never, of course, be perfect this side of heaven.
         So when a writer puts his words in print, he wants to see something good, not glaring errors. In last week’s WEEKLY MESSAGE I really left a real blotch on the paper, and it took only two words!  I began,“Are you’re a worrier?”
        WHAT? How many times could I proof read that opening line and still miss a stinker like that? It’s “you” not “you’re!” So much for my quest for an errorless article, much less an interesting one. What kind of writer misses that? (Don’t answer that...)
        Sadly, that mistake is also in hundreds of copies of Day By Day With Jesus I’ve sold, because I lifted the article from my devotion for February 21. Jesus must have chuckled when He saw me hit the “Send” key. Then again, He probably ignored or deleted it as some surely do.
        Today’s message also has an error in it. You may already have found it. At one of my former congregations I told members each of my bulletins contained at least one mistake and thus gave them something to do if the sermon got too boring. Sometimes I received a corrected copy in the offering basket.
        Only God is perfect and without sin. He originally made people that way, but they soon placed the indelible blotch of sin into everything they did. The good news is that Jesus fixes our foolish foibles. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake God made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
        It’s hard to imagine the Son of God willingly taking on our foolish and evil thoughts, words and deeds upon Himself, and yet He did. Thus there’s no need for us to be perfect. The Holy One did that for us. We can show Him our attitude of gratitude by living the love He showed us on the cross. But He is the only perfect one.

Thank You, Jesus, for becoming sin for us.

Rev. Bob Tasler
www.bobtasler.com